“Connected lighting” refers to a class of lighting system in which the lights (luminaires) can be controlled based on the communication of data between the lights and a controlling device (such as a smartphone, tablet, smart-switch etc.) using network technology, according a network communications protocol or combination of such protocols, such as Zig-Bee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Ethernet etc. In this manner, the luminaires form a lighting network, where the luminaires are nodes of the lighting network. This allows a connected lighting system to provide richer functionality than traditional lighting systems, for example allowing a user to directly control the lights using an application (app) executed on a smartphone, wearable device or other user device, and to easily incorporate new control points, such as light switches or sensors, into the lighting network without the rewiring that would be needed in a legacy system.
An “intelligent luminaire” as the term is used herein refers to a luminaire for use in a lighting network, which comprises a lighting unit (i.e. illumination source); one or more sensors for detecting occupancy; control logic, such as a microcontroller configured to intelligent behavior; and a communication interface i.e. some communications means to communicate with other devices in the lighting network—either directly, or via one or more other luminaires in the lighting network—to allow messages to be received from the lighting network and sensor data to be communicated to other devices in the network.
The luminaires can be configured to act as routers, such that as well as providing illumination, they also route messages between other devices in the lighting network. In the context of a ZigBee network, such devices are referred to as ZigBee Routers (ZR).
A lighting network may be controller by a central controller. In a ZigBee network, the device designated as the ZigBee Coordinator (ZC) acts as a centralized area controller, which can for example also function as a gateway (bridge) to other networks. With this architecture, although commands can be relayed from one luminaire to another, the commands originate from the central controller.
D1 (EP 2 595 456 A2) discloses transmitter, receiver and a wireless lighting system, wherein the transmitter receives an activation signal from a sensor and transmit a wireless signal comprising the transmitter ID and data indicating a length of time T for which a receipt light should turn on or off. The receiver comprises an output to sending a control signal to a light, a timer and a radio receiver.